Congress questions PM's seriousness over reining cow vigilantes

Senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh on Wednesday questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's seriousness on reining in cow vigilantes and said strict action must be taken against people attacking Dalits in Andhra Pradesh.

"The TDP government is there in Andhra Pradesh, strict action must be taken on this issue. This is not only in the state of Andhra Pradesh, but in the entire nation. The people have been taught that our government is ruling, now government is yours, police is yours, do whatever you want to do," Singh told ANI.

When asked about the Prime Minister's statement on cow vigilantes he questioned "Is the Prime Minister serious about it? I have doubts?"

The Congress leader P. L. Punia said incidents of killing and assaulting people across the country in the name of cow are very shameful and need to be monitored.

"This issue must be monitored and serious steps should be taken against the culprits. I am shocked that even after the Prime Minister's remark and request to put a rein on these people, these incidents are taking place. The state government needs to be more careful in this matter," Punia said.

The Centre has asked states and union territories not to tolerate any attacks on individuals in the name of cow vigilantism.

In its advisory issued to chief secretaries, the Home Ministry said they are expected to ensure that any person who takes the law into his hands, is dealt with promptly and given strict punishment.

The advisory said the states where cow slaughter is prohibited, slaughtering would be seen as a violation of law, but it does not permit any individual or group of persons to take action on their own to prevent the alleged slaughter or punish the alleged wrongdoers.

Last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said most cow vigilantes were 'anti-social' elements masquerading as 'gau rakshaks' or as cow protectors.

"It makes me angry that people are running shops in the name of cow protection. Some people indulge in anti-social activities at night and during the day masquerade as cow protectors," he said at his first townhall-style address to mark the second anniversary of his government's MyGov initiative in the national capital.